Greg Hardy’s lead leg was beaten up by Yorgan De Castro in the first round of their fight at UFC 249 tonight, but after Hardy hurt his opponent foot by checking a kick in the second round the tide turned and he cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
Round One:
Hardy with a leg kick and a right hand counter comes from De Castro. Now De Castro wades forward with a combination of punches.
Kick again for Hardy and De Castro is throwing hard on the counter to that. Grazing left hook at the end of a combination from De Castro now.
Jab for Hardy. Left hand for De Castro and now a leg kick. Body punch for Hardy. He lands it again. Now back to the jab upstairs.
Inside leg kick for Hardy. Now an outside leg kick from De Castro. Hardy backs away from a combination. Leg kick for Hardy and eats a punch in return.
Hardy ducking into a punch and De Castro hits him solidly on the counter. Hard leg kick for De Castro and now another.
Inside leg kick from Hardy. Jab for Hardy, leg kick from De Castro. Suddenly both men are swinging hard and Hardy stays in the pocker and lands nicely.
Hardy working the jab. Head kick attempt from him now as De Castro’s output starts to slow a little at the end of the round.
Round Two:
De Castro straight back to the outside leg kick and it’s causing Hardy problems. Hardy lands one of his own, but De Castro scores with it again too.
De Castro wades forward on the offensive. Right hand for Hardy. Hardy’s movement definitely more limited by his tenderized thigh courtesy of De Castro’s kicks.
Again De Castro lands the kick but Hardy checks that one and it hurt his opponent. Now a leg kick for Hardy and then a punch behind it. He misses with a head kick though.
De Castro’s pace slowing again in the later stages of this round. Hardy pumping out the jab and lands the outside leg kick. Hardy’s work-rate higher without landing too much, while De Castro offering nothing in the final minnutes there.
Round Three:
Right from Hardy. Low kick from De Castro. He goes for it again. De Castro working the inside of the leg now.
Inside leg kick from Hardy too. Outside one lands now. Jab for him. Back to the inside leg kick and De Castro throws his own to the outside.
Inside leg kick for Hardy again. Body punch now and then to the inside leg kick. One-two for Hardy to the chest.
De Castro slips on a leg kick attempt and falls to the mat. Hardy stays hovering over him and punches to the leg. Hardy reluctant to go to ground with him here and instead lands a few kicks to the leg.
Hardy asks for a stand-up and De Castro gets back to his feet. Still low output from De Castro. As in the previous round Hardy isn’t connecting with too much, but just the fact he’s staying busy and pressing forward is helping him to win the round.
Decision:
De Castro looked good in the early stages of this fight and had Hardy’s leg in bad shape, but then a checked kick in the second round hurt De Castro’s foot and from then on his work rate dropped completely.
As such, Hardy was able to stay busy and work his way to a unanimous decision victory (30-27 x3).
